 |  | | | |  | |  |  | Issues Removing My Crankset |  | |  |  | |
 Posted: Wed May 21, 2008 5:00 pm |
 |
|
| Colin |
|
|
|
| Joined: 20 May 2008 |
| Posts: 5 |
|
|
|
|
Help! I'm not sure of the year or the model of my Gitane, but I can't get my crankset off. There's a bolt going perpendicularly through the crankarms next to the spindle. I loosened the nut off on end, tried tapping lightly at the bolt, but it wouldn't come out. The cranks don't look like they dustcaps over their connection to the spindle -- in fact, they don't even look like they attach that way to the spindle. Rather, it seems that the cranks are held on by torsion to the spindle from the bolt I mentioned. I'll try to get some pictures, but if anyone knows right out what's up, holler at me.
Colin Pippin-Timco
Olympia, WA |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |  |  | | | |  |  |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Posted: Wed May 21, 2008 8:13 pm |
|
|
| vanhelmont |
|
|
|
| Joined: 11 Dec 2007 |
| Posts: 242 |
| Location: Florida |
|
|
|
You have cottered cranks. In the bike boom lower end bikes had cottered cranks, and high end bikes had cotterless cranks. Over the years cotterless cranks moved down and cottered cranks disappeared. Here's what Sheldon Brown had to say about them:
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/cotters.html
I haven't worked on cottered cranks in 20 years, and I used to consider cotters disposable, but if you want to reuse the cranks you better either find new pins before you damage the old ones, or find some gentler way than pounding to take them out. An older bike shop might have a cotter pin press. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Posted: Thu May 22, 2008 1:15 am |
|
|
| Gtane |
|
|
|
| Joined: 14 Sep 2007 |
| Posts: 681 |
| Location: UK |
|
|
|
Colin,
I have a piece of wood with a hole drilled near the edge and right through it, just larger than the diameter of a cotter pin, as the immediate support underneath the crank arm (so as not to damage the crank itself or its finish). This piece of wood is designed to run along the length of the crank arm and is about the length of a brick. It's about 30mm thick and takes the length of the cotter pin when it's extracted. I support the wood with 2/3 bricks on the ground and actually lift the bike slightly to ensure that the shock is taken by the support.
A trick that I've used many times when hitting a cotter pin, is to place a strip of 5mm or thicker metal (about 25mm wide) on the top of the cotter pin itself (this needs to be long enough to hold in your non hitting hand once the bike is supported) so giving a wider area to hit with the hammer as well as reducing the issues of bent cotters after a hit. I've found this method to work for me every time.
Tim |
|
_________________
Everything has a cycle |
|
|
|
|
|
| | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Posted: Thu May 22, 2008 6:55 am |
|
|
| Colin |
|
|
|
| Joined: 20 May 2008 |
| Posts: 5 |
|
|
|
|
Thanks to the both of you for your advice. I know this is sacrilege, but I'm actually transforming what I think is a late-seventies or early-eighties Grand Sport DeLuxe into a single-speed. Right now, I'm yanking everything off to get a fresh start. I'm learning as I'm going, and, vanhelmont, Sheldon Brown has been like my shining beacon of enlightenment through this dark and wondrous venture. Again, thank you both your quick response. You'll likely see me quite often in the next few months.
Colin Pippin-Timco
Olympia, WA |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Posted: Thu May 22, 2008 7:02 am |
|
|
| Colin |
|
|
|
| Joined: 20 May 2008 |
| Posts: 5 |
|
|
|
|
| Oh, do you think that my bottom bracket is french threaded? |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Posted: Thu May 22, 2008 8:34 am |
|
|
| Colin |
|
|
|
| Joined: 20 May 2008 |
| Posts: 5 |
|
|
|
|
| And now I realize it couldn't be from the early-eighties. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Posted: Thu May 22, 2008 9:32 am |
|
|
| vanhelmont |
|
|
|
| Joined: 11 Dec 2007 |
| Posts: 242 |
| Location: Florida |
|
|
|
Colin,
Your Grand Sport Deluxe being a more common model, as long as you don't start grinding off cable guides, etc. you probably won't get too much trouble from most of us. Also you might want to restore it some day, so keep all the little bits you take off.
You probably have a French bottom bracket. What I would do is remove the adjustable cup, because it is always right hand thread. Then you can compare the thread to the thread on a British adjustable cup. If it's French, they won't mesh together if you hold them side by side. I also tried threading both cups into my Gitane's bottom bracket. The French cup threads in smoothly by hand, but feels like it fits, while the British cup screws in even easier, and feels loose. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Posted: Thu May 22, 2008 11:02 am |
|
|
| Colin |
|
|
|
| Joined: 20 May 2008 |
| Posts: 5 |
|
|
|
|
I had a feeling this is how it would roll out. Oh well. Looks like I'm going to have to spend that extra hundred on a Phil Wood. I checked into Shimano UN72s, but I'm having trouble finding a reliable looking source for them on the web. Anyway, I'm sure the quality of a Phil Wood is well worth the extra bucks.
On a different subject, I was down in my apartment complex laundry-room yesterday, and what do I find but a free Grand Sport DeLuxe that's maybe a couple years younger than mine. It's in really good condition -- better than mine -- and it took a lot of strength not to just retire mine for parts and ride this new one. However, my buddy needs a bike, so I'm letting him have it. I figure we could start a Gitane Mafia in Olympia.
Thanks for the reply,
Colin Pippin-Timco
Olympia, WA |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| | | | | | | | |
|
